World's largest crypto exchange Binance sells Russian business

euronews.com:

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its exit from the Russian market, selling its business in the country to CommEX, a newly launched exchange. 

The move comes amidst increased scrutiny and regulatory challenges faced by Binance globally and growing concerns about compliance in the Russian market.

The buyer, CommEX, is described as a "community exchange" and had just launched its operations a day before the acquisition was announced. While CommEX's background remains relatively opaque, it is reportedly backed by top-tier crypto venture capitalists.

Binance revealed that it intends to cease all exchange services and business operations in Russia over the coming months. 

While the financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, Binance clarified that it will not retain any ongoing revenue shares from the sale or have any buyback options, setting it apart from similar deals involving international companies in Russia.

The decision to exit Russia aligns with Binance's compliance strategy, according to Noah Perlman, the group's Chief Compliance Officer.

Notably, this move follows reports of the US Justice Department investigating Binance for potential violations of war-related sanctions on Moscow, although the company did not explicitly reference this in its statement.

Binance assured its Russian clients that their assets were securely protected during the transition process, which is expected to take up to a year. Users of Binance's in-house coin, BNB, were also informed that they would enjoy a 25% trading fee discount on CommEX.

The sale of Binance's Russian operations marks another withdrawal of a Western company from Russia in response to geopolitical tensions, as numerous firms have been